This is going be a continuing series about how my 2015 Indian Chief Classic performs and my experience of owning it. I’m not going to bullshit you about anything about this motorcycle. I don’t work for Indian. I’m just another motorcycle consumer like you. If something sucks you’re going know about it. I’ll deal with facts, figures and my opinion.

Why did I buy an Indian Motorcycle?

The truth is I wanted own a piece of American motorcycle history. Not the history of a brand that died sometime in the 1960s. I know Polaris is trying to link their Indian motorcycles to the ones that were built in 1901. I’m not having any of those shenanigans. I have no emotional link with those motorcycles. The whole Indian motorcycle beginning and ending happened before my starting date on this planet.

Although, I’ve read about the history of the old Indian brand and their motorcycles in few books that I currently own. My Indian motorcycle’s history started in 2014. This was when a very competitive and cool product was brought to life. Also putting these new motorcycles in the mix was bold move! You’ve gone to war with the “Death Star” aka Harley Davidson. Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki, Victory and Kawasaki have all made changes to their line ups. They’ve retreated from certain motorcycle segments in hopes of greener grass in other segments. I’m hopeful Polaris / Indian has a lot of cash and the “force” is with them.

Something made in America! Yep, as I get older that’s starting to be a factor in what I purchase these days. I know all of the parts are not made in America, but at least it’s assembled by an American worker in an American factory. I know that people in other countries read my blog. So I want to make this perfectly clear. I am not suggesting that the craftsmanship in other countries is less than what goes on in the United States. I just think it’s cool to build things in the USA.

I’m not a Harley Davidson hater! I’ve been to several Indian demo rides where Harley owners couldn’t trade in their motorcycles in fast enough. There have been some painful and frustrating Harley Davidson experiences for me too. But I consider owning a motorcycle like any other life experience. You’ll have your ups and downs, that’s just how it goes. Without a doubt, I know that Indian dealer will one day will provide me with a painful and frustrating experience too.

Which model did I buy?

I bought a 2015 Chief Classic in black. The 2015 Chief Classic in black was cheapest one of that model. Any other colors than black raised the cost of the motorcycle. I thought about buying the Chieftain in the same color, but I needed to control costs. It’s about a $4,000 dollar difference between the two. Plus, I already have two motorcycles like the Chieftain.

Being able to remove the windshield was a big factor in my decision. In July and August it gets very warm in the state of ILL. I’m not a big fan of riding a motorcycle without a leather jacket. I have a Vanson perforated leather jacket that is bearable to wear in warm weather. Removing the windshield even makes it more bearable because air flows through it, cooling me.

What did it cost me?

I paid roughly 6.25% less list price. You do the math! I know you will. The Indian dealer provided me with a mid-size windshield. The windshield was part of a promotion to promote sales. Yep, nothing like giving something to get something. If I would have bought a 2014 model last year, it would have been roughly 9.55% less than list price. Indian had a stronger promotional mechanism in place last year. But, I have a strict unyielding no loan policy, no cash no buy! One of my life rules, I guess.

What Indian extras parts did I buy already?

Well, I cannot go without a toe-heal-shifter. It seems odd to write this down, but it’s a fact. It just doesn’t feel like a motorcycle without floorboards and a toe-heal-shifter. That cost me another $160.00. I’m getting older and lose things on occasion so I bought a second fob. That was damn close to $150.00.

What other extras parts did I buy already?

At this point in my life I can’t go anywhere with my stuff. I don’t know when in the hell that switch flipped but it did. Back in the day I’d ride a motorcycle all day long without bring a single thing with me! Now a days I’ve got hand tools, tire repair kits, air compressor, jumper cables, rain gear and a bunch of other stuff. So I bought a set of soft bags manufactured by US Saddle Bags. These bags are made in the USA. The cost of the bags and mounting hardware was right around $800.00. This was about 40% less than the Indian bags.

US Saddle Bags did not provide me with any monetary incentive to purchase their product. I prefer it that way. There are a couple reoccurring themes in my life, I’m not very good at kissing ass, nor have I ever been employee of month.

I bought the hardware to mount my Garmin GPS unit to the handlebars. I’m a big fan of GPS units. I believe I don’t use GPS unit like most others. I don’t use it to get to a destination. I just use it to find my way home. I roll my motorcycle out of the garage and just go! After three to four hours of riding I hit the home button. It plots a course home and I’m on my way.

I do have one little problem with my new GPS unit. It somehow knew where I lived without programming that information into it. This is a bit unsettling and feeds my paranoia about the New World Order. The old GPS unit required me enter my home address. The guy at Garmin told that when I connected the GPS unit to my computer it got that information. I know he’s probably lying to me and he’s part of the New World Order.

What Indian extras parts do I plan on buying in the future?

I’ll probably buy the front crash bar and the rear crash bars. I don’t know why they call them crash bars, but in reality they’re more like fall over bars. Also I’m pretty sure I’m going to buy the rear backrest and a rack to hold more of my junk. I’m not completely sure, but I’ve estimated that these parts will run me around $2500. Basically I plan on outfitting it exactly the way my 2014 Harley-Davidson Road King is set up.

What is way cool?

This motorcycle is loaded with chrome bits! The Indian branding is all over the motorcycle. I love the sound that resonates from the exhaust pipes. From what I’ve seen so far, it looks like the accessories are extremely easy to install. The transmission has worked like a charm from day one. No fooling around for neutral or ghost gears. I can’t think of a better term to describe its operation than “smooth.” The red background lighting on the faceplates of the speedometer and gas gauge at night.

What blows already?

The engine seems a little bit on the noisy side. Rode it a little bit without a helmet to make I wasn’t hearing other things. The noise is not a big deal, but it’s there. The noise is also hard to define and the exact location can’t be determined.

The suspension seems a little on harsh side. During its next visit to the dealer, I’m going to ask them to adjust the pre-load on the rear shock. I didn’t see any adjustment for the front forks. I’m not going to bitch too much about this, because part of the problem is my mass.

There seems to be some rattles coming from the motorcycle. I noticed this on the several demo rides that I did on other Indian motorcycles over the last two years. So it’s not really a big deal for me because I’m used to riding Harley Davison’s. So I should be conditioned to tune out any rattles. But for some reason these rattles resonate in my brain.

The rear cylinder on right side does generate some heat. I wear Kevlar lined jeans this might help to reflect the heat away from my right leg. To be truthful, it was not as hot as my 2012 Harley Davidson Softail Deluxe that I owned. The fact is on an air and oil cooled engine, the heat is just the nature of the beast.

Victory’s 2014 Cross Roads Classic is solid bagger in a crowded market segment. All of the other motorcycle manufacturers have one or multiple entries in this arena. I get the whole bagger business because every motorcycle that I own has bags on it. I guess I just can’t leave home without taking a lot of stuff with me. This might be related to age, because back in the day, I never brought anything with me when I rode a motorcycle.

This motorcycle is equipped with the Freedom 106 V-twin engine. The displacement is a little north of 1700 cc. This is Victory’s bread and butter prime mover for all of their models. The engine relies on air and oil cooling to keep engine heat at bay. The engine uses a wet sump configuration to store the oil. There’s an oil cooler mounted in lower front of the engine. It’s mounted right between the two frame down tubes.

Four valves are used to move the air, fuel and exhaust for combustion in each cylinder. Most of the vibration is absorbed through the rotating counter balance system inside the engine. The electronic fuel injection worked without a hiccup. Very linear engine control though changes to handgrip position. No surprises or dead spots during my demo ride.

The six speed overdrive constant mesh gearbox worked like champ. No whining, clunking or other weird sounds emanating from the gearbox. The primary drive is a gear. No chains or belts on this baby. The rear wheel is driven by a belt. A belt drive system has become standard issue on this type motorcycle throughout the different manufacturers.

I didn’t make it to the sixth or the overdrive gear during the demo ride. I’m pretty sure everything still would have been groovy if I shifted the transmission into 6th gear. During the demo, I didn’t have to hunt for neutral. That’s one of things that really pisses me off! No toe-heal-shifter! This type of motorcycle should come standard with a toe-heal-shifter.

The front suspension is an inverted cartridge telescopic fork with 5.1 inches of travel. The rear suspension is a single mono-tube gas shock with 4.7 inches of travel. The front suspension in not adjustable, what you see is what you get. I’m pretty sure the rear suspension has a pre-load adjustment. Either way the suspension did a good job soaking up the bumps in the road.

There are two disk brakes on the front wheel and one disk brake on the rear wheel. The ABS is optional on this model. The model that I rode was enhanced with ABS. No way to turn it off either in case you’re one of the people who doesn’t need or like ABS controlled brakes. Me, I’m a big fan of ABS used to decelerate a motorcycle I’m driving. I felt a little pulsing on the foot brake during hard braking. Otherwise, the brakes did their job during the whole demo ride.

The brake rotors are 300mm all the way around. There are 4-piston calipers in the front. The rear brake has a 2-piston caliper. The overall length of the motorcycle is 104 inches. This is a long motorcycle! A 2015 Harley Davidson Road King has an overall length of about 97 inches. The Victory Cross Road Classic is a good seven inches longer than Harley Davidson’s Road King.

This motorcycle is equipped a 5.8 gallon fuel tank. That should get well over 200 miles down the road. The dry weight of this motorcycle is around 780 pounds. So I’m going guess the “wet” weight is around 810 pounds. Why do manufactures provide you with the dry weight? Do they think you’re going to ship it from place to place instead of riding it? Duh!!

The seat height is about 26 inches from the ground. So it falls right in line with similar models from different manufacturers. When you change the oil, you’ll need five quarts instead of four. The color scheme of the motorcycle I rode was a Two-Tone Bronze Mist & Khaki. I’m not completely sure, but I think that’s your only choice. It grows on you over time. Sort of, I guess.

There are four things that I don’t like about this motorcycle. The speedometer is one of them. Don’t get me wrong, the speedometer functions like a charm, providing you with speed, gear position, engine RPM and all of the usual idiot lights. It’s just doesn’t “POP.” It looks like just some add-on device to the design of the motorcycle.

I’d like give you an example of speedometer that “POPS”: The Harley-Davidson V-Rod has such a device. The V-Rod’s speedometer looks like piece of art. The speedometer is actually incorporated in to the design of the motorcycle. It enhances the look of the motorcycle. Not just something that has been added at the last moment during the design phase.

I’m going to throw this out there. It seems to me Victory motorcycles are designed for tall people. Let me rephrase this, people with long arms. The seat height falls in line with that of other cruiser manufacturers. So inseam-challenged people should be okay. It’s just turning the handlebars from one stop position to the other requires long arms. I’m talking about blocking a jump shot long.

What’s up with the cruise control buttons? You’re going to need a really long thumb to work them without removing you hand from the handgrip. Also, they’re a little bit on the “cheesy” side. While I’m bitching, I think white wall tires would have been a nice addition to the overall look of the motorcycles.

What did I like about this motorcycle? I’m going to start with the floorboards. There’s plenty of room to move your feet around. Ride a motorcycle for few hours and you’ll understand how cool that is. The engine, it’s bullet-proof. I’m pretty sure in produces less vibration than its competition. Just change the oil and maybe it could go on forever. The seat was very comfortable during my 40-minute demo ride. As I recall, it was the stock seat. Sometime on demo rides they install upgraded seats on the motorcycles.

Even though this motorcycle is on “long” side, pushing into the turns builds confidence. Don’t try dropping your knee into the turns! The floorboards will quickly remind you of what type of motorcycle you’re on. The transmission is a true asset on this motorcycle. No battling for neutral or shifting into “ghost” gears. Throttle response is on the money. There were no delays or abrupt operation during the demo ride.

The big question is would I buy one? The answer is “Hell Yeah!”

Under the category of “this blows big time”: Victory has decided to remove this motorcycle from their 2015 line up. I’m hoping this is a temporary discussion on their part. They have knocked off five models total in 2015. It must be a cold cruel world in the motorcycle business to have to cut five models of their lineup.

I picked up my Moto Guzzi from the dealer last Saturday night and rode it for a couple hours. My two hour ride was to make sure everything was groovy. There was no charge for the repairs because my Moto Guzzi was still under warranty. The warranty period ends in June 2015. So I guess I just made it under the wire. I was very glad to see my mechanical friend again after a painful 6.5 week separation.

When I got home I popped open the garage door and rode my motorcycle into its assigned parking spot on a rubber mat. Put the kickstand down and turn the ignition off. Walked over to where a flashlight is a plugged into an electrical outlet to keep it charged. Grabbed the flashlight and walked over to the Moto Guzzi and inspected it for any type of oil leak. After my careful inspection I didn’t see any type of leak and I noticed that the dealer did a really good job of cleaning up the oil mess on my motorcycle.

I rode it for about eight hours the next day Sunday and again inspected the motorcycle for leaks when I brought it into the garage again. Everything was groovy, no leaks. I got pelted with a little bit of rain during my ride today because I forgot to put my rain suit in one of the saddlebags. For some reason I remembered to pack all my tools and supplies for any possible road mishap. But no rain gear! I think I’m going to develop some type of personal checklist to make sure my motorcycles are ready for anything that the road throws at it. Yep, that’s going to happen!

Okay, how am I going to rate my first issue with my Moto Guzzi motorcycle. To be perfectly honest, I’m not very happy about the 6.5 weeks to make the repair. Second thing in the hopper is that I’m not very happy about the response from the home office. I made several calls to the home office without a single response. This is the first time that I’ve ever called the home office of a motorcycle manufacturer, so I don’t know what kind of response I would’ve gotten from the others and have no data to make a comparison.

One of the reasons that it took 6.5 weeks to make the repair was the availability of parts. This would seem excessive except this is relatively a brand-new model for Moto Guzzi. I did a little research and found out that this is a problem regardless of manufacturer. Also, Moto Guzzi does not produce the same amount of motorcycles as other manufacturers. This fact has a lot to do with the availability of repair parts.

To make matters worse, the Piaggio computer system was experiencing difficulties due to a migration of data into the servers. Piaggio is the parent company of Moto Guzzi. Thinking rationally now, this could possibly be a reason that none of my phone calls were returned from the home office. I’m pretty sure the computer system is tied in with customer service.

Okay, what was wrong with my Moto Guzzi? There are two breather hoses connected to each cylinder head which connects to a Y-tube. The Y-tube connects to another device which returns the oil back to the crankcase. The connection parts on the right cylinder sitting on the bike had failed. Also, the Y-tube developed a crack and was leaking oil that was supposed to be returned to the crankcase. If you have a Moto Guzzi that is similar to mine, you might want to have the dealer inspect the breather system.

I’d like to thank Windy City Triumph in St. Charles Illinois for their communication skills, cleaning my motorcycle and making the repairs in a timely fashion once they had received the parts.

Wear your helmet! I don’t want you to get hurt. I need as many people as possible to read my blogs. As far as I can tell, dead people don’t read blogs. Be safe!

I think the motorcycle gods are out to get me. The kickstand on my 2014 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited failed. This failure immediately exposed my motorcycle to the effects of gravity. Down my motorcycle went at 9.8 meters per second per second. It came to an abrupt halt when both the front and the rear crash bars hit the ground. Very minor damage to the crash bars, just a little scuffing, no bending.

New bolt for the kickstand.

You might not know this but back in the day, I had the capability to bench press 375 pounds not bad for someone who weighed 210 pounds. So for some strange reason, I thought I still have the capability to bench press 375 pounds and tried lifting the Ultra Limited by myself. I quickly remembered that I’m three clicks away from 60 years old and my 375 pound bench pressing days were 37 years behind me. So apparently I am a near 60 years old weakling.

Good thing a couple of “youts” saw me trying to “clean and jerk” my motorcycle. The three “youts” walked up to me and asked me if I needed some help. I immediately said, “I sure do.” At this point, my pride had been completely eroded away. Together the four of us lifted my Ultra Limited into its normal operating position. I offered them some money for their help. I told them they could “buy some beers with the money.” They looked at me and smiled. They were probably thinking, “Why does this old dude want to get us drunk?”

So when your kickstand fails on your Harley Davidson where do you go for repairs? Well, I went to the Indian dealer down the road. Yep, the Indian dealer! I remembered the Indian dealership’s location from all of the demo rides I participated in last year. I rolled up to the Indian dealer’s service garage door and asked for some help. The service manager walks up to me and asks “What’s up.” I tell him my sad story about the kickstand. I ‘m thinking I’m going to catch some shit about bringing a downed Harley Davidson motorcycle into an Indian motorcycle dealership.

That doesn’t happen. All of the sudden, three Indian dealership employees are whirling around the bottom of my Ultra Limited with tools. I felt like a stock car driver at a pit stop. One of my pit crew members shows me a strip bolt head that was used to hold the locking mechanism on my kickstand. Another member of my pit crew tells me “we might have one of the bolts lying around.” He digs through the “bolt bin,” but no such luck. Again, the motorcycle gods show their displeasure with me.

I also remember that there’s a Harley-Davidson dealer roughly 10 miles south of the Indian dealership and begin my journey. I tried to pay the service staff at the Indian dealership, but they wouldn’t have it. I’m not sure, but if I would’ve had the title for my Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited on me, I might have driven away on an Indian Chieftain. Damn you, Willy G! Damn you!

I called the Harley-Davidson dealer on my smart phone and told them of my plight. They informed me not to use the kickstand and they would put me at the front of the service line. I thought to myself “cool!” I backed my wounded Ultra Limited out of the service bay and off I went. As I was heading to the Harley-Davidson dealer, I still couldn’t believe that the Indian dudes had an opportunity to let me have it and they were really cool about the whole situation.

As I rolled up to the Harley-Davidson dealership service garage door, I beeped the horn as instructed. A couple of guys immediately came out and asked me if I was the guy with the kickstand problem. I informed them that, yes, I’m the one. The other guy slides a small scissors jack and jacks up my motorcycle so they could look to see what the kickstand problem was. The guy looking at the kickstand looks up at me and tells me, “Yep, the bolt holding the kickstand in the locking mechanism had sheared off.”

Then he proceeds to tell me ”this is the first time he’s seen this type of failure in the kickstand.” He pulls the kickstand off takes it to the back where he can remove the broken bolt with an easy out. A few minutes later, he’s got a brand-new bolt and the kickstand in his hand. He reinstalls the whole assembly test it to make sure it works. He lowers a scissors jack and puts weight on the kickstand wiggling my motorcycle around during the test procedure. He then tells me, “It’s all good now.”

The service manager walks up to me and tells me that he’s going to try to get Harley-Davidson to pay for a new front crash bar and rear crash bar. I thought to myself, “I don’t think I want the crash bars changed now that my motorcycle has some ‘Road Mojo’ and I have a story to tell.”

I’d like to thank American Heritage Motorcycles which is the Indian dealer. They are located at 474 Redington Drive in South Elgin IL 60177. They can be reached by phone at 888-627-2340. Also, I’d Iike to thank Fox River Harley Davidson. They are located at 131 S Randall Rd, St Charles, IL 60174. The can be reached by phone at 630-584-8000.

This is going to be my second season with my 2014 Harley-Davidson Ultra Limited. I really like riding this motorcycle it’s a lot more comfortable than I thought it would be. I’m going to throw this out there it’s the most comfortable motorcycle that I’ve ever ridden. The seat and the handlebars are pretty much a custom fit for me. I have often wondered how comfortable someone over 6 feet would be riding this motorcycle.

It does have a few characteristics that I need to get used to. One of them is that the motorcycle does feel a little bit top-heavy. I consider myself to be a person that has above average strength. So I’m cool with it. You might want to eat your Wheaties before you try to muscle this motorcycle around. Also, I’m used to riding a Honda Goldwing which has a much lower center of gravity. With that said, I am very selective and careful on what surfaces I ride the Ultra Limited on. The Ultra Limited weighs somewhere around 940 pounds so it’s no lightweight. My Goldwing is damn close to 1000 pounds.

The Goldwing has an inherent design advantage over the Ultra Limited due to the engine configuration. The Goldwing’s engine mass sits low in the frame, unlike the Ultra Limited’s engine frame relationship. So I was prepared and it wasn’t a really big shock. Either way, the Goldwing and the Ultra Limited are on the upper end of the motorcycle weight scale spectrum. So it might be a good idea to get a gym membership if you purchase either one of these motorcycles. You’ll need to pump-yourself-up!

The other thing that I need to get used to is the bat-wing fairing. The fairing is mounted to the front forks and affects the handling of the motorcycle. The front fairing on the Goldwing is independent of the front forks so it doesn’t affect the handling. I already knew that from reading several reviews in different motorcycle publications. Not the end of the world. I just have to plan and execute my turns with a little bit more precision.

All in all, I’m in love with this motorcycle. I don’t mean “replace the wife love,” but I do mean motorcycle love. That’s right “motorcycle love.” Its a different type of love. I should get back on track now. The Ultra Limited has a lot of well thought out amenities that come in very handy during its usage. I’m very happy with the engine. If you have read other posts I’ve written, you know I’m a fan of the V-twin engine. 2014 was the first year Harley-Davidson incorporated a non-traditional cooling system into some of their engines. I did have the chance to ride this motorcycle during some very hot August days and everything was groovy.

Okay the bad news. I went to pick up Ultra Limited from the dealer where it was being stored during the winter. Got on my motorcycle turned the ignition on switch and the infotainment system didn’t work. I got the green screen of death and then it went blank. Okay, not the end of the world, I purchased the 7-year warranty. I’ve got other motorcycles to ride, it’s all groovy. So I left the dealer without my Ultra Limited.

The dealer called me about a week later and told me it was fixed. They told me they updated the software and so forth. The wife dropped me off at the dealer. Went to the service department and there it was waiting for me. I turned the ignition on switch and the infotainment system lights up with the Harley-Davidson logo. Yep, all good now! I pressed the start button and the motorcycle labors to start, but it starts. Okay, cool, put on my gear on and off I went.

A couple days later, I get the need to hear some V-twin rumble. I turned the ignition on switch and the infotainment system didn’t work. WTF! I pressed the start button and again the motorcycles labors to start, but it starts. I start thinking to myself “Harley piece of shit! Where’s the nearest Indian dealer?” All of the sudden, the cognitive part of my brain engaged. “The battery is almost dead, dumb ass!”

I removed the right side panel to get to the charging plug and connected to the trickle charger. The LED on the trickle charger is solid red which means the battery is being charged. The very next day, the LED on the trickle charger is flashing green which means the battery is almost charged. Day three arrives and the LED on the trickle charger is solid green which means the battery is charged. Yeah!

I turned the ignition on switch and the Harley-Davidson logo appears on the infotainment system display. Cool we’re going in the right direction. I pressed the start button and engine comes to life without a problem. I ran the infotainment system through its paces. Yep, I’m ready for the summer now. I guess I won’t be making a trip to the nearest Indian dealer.

So what did learn from this experience? Number one, I need to make sure my baby’s stored where it’ll get fed enough electric juice over the winter. Number two, if the battery is low on electromotive force the infotainment system will show you the green screen of death.

I guess I may have pulled my Moto Guzzi out a little bit early this year. The very first ride of the season! Usually I take the Goldwing out on the first ride of the season. The Goldwing is the flagship of my motorcycle fleet. It’s tradition to ride that motorcycle out first. But this year I decided to switch it up. Plus the fact the Goldwing battery is still on the charger. I must be slipping, I had all winter to put it on the charger, but I waited until the last minute. I think my brain is starting to fail me.

I pulled the Moto Guzzi out of garage and fired him or her up. I’m still not into determining the sex or naming my motorcycles yet. I wonder what that says about me. No time to psychoanalyze myself now. I rounded up all of my tools and supplies that I carry with me on motorcycle rides. I like to be prepared, must be the Boy Scout in me.

I know what you’re thinking. What does coolcycledude carry on a motorcycle ride? Okay, here goes:

An air compressor

Two flashlights

Tire repair kit, plug type and that squirt in stuff.

Toolkit Harley Davidson

Toolkit Metric

Pressure Gauge

Wire ties

Wire

Tape

LED road flares

Jumper cables

Rain gear

A second pair of gloves

A light long-sleeve shirt

An extra pair of socks

First aid kit

Two towels

Water

Okay, back on track. I packed the Moto Guzzi up and did the finial walk around to make sure everything is “groovy.” I throw my leg over and drop my butt in the seat. Lifted the kickstand up, pull in the clutch, tap the gearlever down and off I went. Yeah, first ride of summer! Good bye winter! Looked at the speedometer and the temperature display is reading 39 degrees. Okay, not quite summer yet.

Yep, not quite summer yet so I turned on the heated grips. Nice! I had about an hour ride to meet the group that I was riding with that day. I arrived at the my destination parked the Moto Guzzi . Took one more walk around the motorcycle. Walk over to the group and introduced myself. First time riding with this group! You’ve got to get out of your comfort zone and meet new motorcycle people. That’s one of my life rules.

One of the guys from the group had brought pecan rolls for everyone. That was pretty cool. We all started the motorcycle chit-chat for about twenty minutes. Then the destination, route and safety protocol was discussed. Everyone mounted up and off we went. About an hour later we arrived at restaurant that had a train car incorporated in it. What in the hell else would you do with an old train car?

After eating lunch we went outside for a photo-shoot. Then we proceeded towards our motorcycles. I put all my gear on and again walk around my motorcycle. On the left of my Moto Guzzi there was a small puddle of oil. WTF! There was oil on the engine casing and the saddle bag. Double WTF!! Yep, my Moto Guzzi is sick, damn! I pulled out the smart phone and looked for the nearest Moto Guzzi dealer.

I fired up the Moto Guzzi to see how bad the leak was. It looked like it was seeping out of the cylinder head. The air traveling through the cooling fins must spread oil on the engine casing and the saddle bag. Okay, cool, not the end of world. The nearest dealer was about eight miles away. Now I need to make a decision, do or die time. Will it make it to the dealer before losing its life blood? After several moments of deep thought I came to this conclusion. It better! So off I went.

Once I hit the dealer which happens to be Harley Davidson dealer that sells Moto Guzzi motorcycles. I just can’t keep my ass out of a Harley Davidson dealerships. I parked my Moto Guzzi near the service garage door. Got off and went to look for the Moto Guzzi doctor. Found the service writer dude and he tells me “The Triumph guy won’t be in until midweek.” “Okaaaay” I’m thinking. Before I had the chance to say anything else he proceeds to tell me” he also works on Moto Guzzi motorcycles too.”

So my Moto Guzzi motorcycle is at a Harley Davidson dealership wait for “Triumph guy” to fix it. Does anyone else see how the forces of the universe are working against me?

I got a chance to sort of test ride the Harley Davidson’s Livewire electric motorcycle. I attended the Chicago International Motorcycle Show back in February. In the Harley Davidson area they had the Livewire mounted in a contraption that let the rear wheel spin freely, but kept everything else in check. Very similar to what Harley Davidson does with their internal combustion power motorcycles at the show.

I have ridden the Zero electric motorcycle several on occasions. So this isn’t my first rodeo with electric motorcycle. Right of the bat the Livewire looks “cool.” The Livewire looks compact and sleek. It’s on the small side. If you have long legs I’m pretty sure it’s not going to be groovy for you. The seat is also on the small side too. The seat is set back a little so you’re leaning forward to reach the low mounted bars.

Under the heading of way cool the grips, front brake lever and control buttons are standard Harley Davidson issue. These provide a great feel or transition from Harley Davidson internal combustion models. The speedometer looks like an IPhone on steroids. Probably a great platform for displaying more data for the rider to see as the Livewire progresses through time. It looks like the Livewire has LED lighting front and rear.

If you never been on an electric motorcycle the first thing you’ll learn is about torque in action. From the very first rotation of electric motor shaft about 95 % of the maximum torque in generated. An internal combustion engine on the other hand needs RPMs to generate torque. That’s why an internal combustion engine on a motorcycle requires transmission.

Once you have turned the throttle on Harley Davidson Livewire all hell breaks loose. The high pitched whine of the electric motor replaces the one-potato two-potato sound. I was surprised how linear the throttle control felt. The guy run the display told me “go ahead and crank the throttle.” So, I did. The motorcycle leaped like a cheetah launching itself after prey on the African plain. The force caused the front forks to compress and backend lift up.

Now remember the Livewire was mounted in a contraption that let the rear wheel spin freely. So the motorcycle was unable accelerate which would have absorb the energy transmitted to the rear wheel. The suspension and the roller that rear wheel sat on absorbed the energy. Either way the Harley Davidson Livewire seam pretty damn powerful.

I’m hopeful the Livewire demo truck will make it to my part of woods this summer. If it does you know my butt will be waiting in line to ride one.

Yep, I’m riding something other than a Harley-Davidson. I don’t know where to start talking about this motorcycle. I don’t usually ride these types of motorcycles. How about this “It’s Fucking fast.” Yep, that pretty much sums it up. So if you don’t read any farther, you definitely know that this motorcycle is no toy. This motorcycle has the capability to test your riding skills within seconds of you ride it, so beware. Oh, one other thing I hope you like the color orange.

Okay, I’m going to throw this out there. KTM what’s up with the ORANGE? Every single KTM motorcycle has some orange in the paint scheme. Did KTM buy a whole bunch of ORANGE paint on sale? Is it part of the manufactures branding? As Jerry Seinfeld might say, “What’s the deal with the ORANGE paint?” Sorry about rant!

This is probably one of the most powerful motorcycles I have ever ridden. I owned a 2010 Yamaha Vmax and I thought that motorcycle was fast. But I’m pretty sure the KTM would beat the Vmax in a foot race. The Vmax might run the table from 0 to 60 MPH, but after that it’s all KTM. The KTM has about 156 HP at the rear wheel and weighs about 240 LBS less. If you do the acceleration math, I’m pretty sure I’m right.

The KTM Super Duke 1290 R has my favorite engine configuration, the V-twin. This engine displaces approximately 1300ccs as the pistons fly up and down. Fuel, air and exhaust move through the two cylinders via 8 valves doing a high-speed dance. The valves are controlled by two chain-driven overhead cams. Engine heat is removed through a liquid cooling system. The rev limiter puts a stop to everything around 10,000 RPM. That’s probably a good thing. This engine has three oil pumps to keep everything lubricated.

The 6-speed gearbox worked like a charm. Although, I never made to the sixth gear during the demo ride. The engine produces tons of torque so there’s no big rush to get through the gearbox. Neutral was easy to find when needed. I wish the gear position lever was a little bit longer. The clutch is hydraulically assisted which translated to a light pull at the lever. The engine has an advanced type of slipper clutch.

This engine bangs out 152 HP @ 9250 RPM at the rear wheel. The torque produced 93 lb-ft @ 8300 RPM. That’s a lot torque for a 1300 cc engine. For a comparison, the Indian 111 Power Stroke engine produces a torque of 101 lb-ft @ 2700 RPM. The Indian engine has 28% displacement lead over the KTM’s engine. KTM has reduced piston weight to improve power gain during acceleration. I was on this motorcycle for 45 minutes and I didn’t feel any excessive heat from the engine.

The oil cooler is mounted on the right side of the engine. Kind of a cool idea, connected directly to the front cylinder lower half. No hose, brackets or a radiator mounted to the frame front down tubes. If you weren’t paying attention, you’d miss it. It’s out of the way from coming in contact with your leg or foot.

The engine is controlled by a ride-by-wire throttle system. This motorcycle is loaded with electronic control systems. This motorcycle come equipped MTC (Motorcycle Traction Control.) There are three modes of operation. Yep, you’ve got to make a choice on the mode. Your choices are street, sport and rain. Each mode controls the amount of HP delivered to the rear wheel. Also, if that wasn’t enough, it also senses your lean angle. Yep, your lean angle! This added feature will help keep you from sliding across pavement just behind your motorcycle. If you’re old school you can turn off the MTC and put an end to this “electronic trickery.”

I’m not a big fan sport or naked motorcycles. They seem way too cramped to me. The KTM has a lot room and I didn’t feel cramped. I guess I could use the word “spacious” to describe the experience while I was sitting in the seat. I remember thinking to myself while riding this motorcycle, “Man if I put some beach bars and floorboards on this baby, I’d be all good then.” Good thing I’m not designing motorcycles for KTM.

The speedometer / information center is easy to read while riding the motorcycle. In the center is a very cool analog tachometer. To left of the tachometer is text screen. The text screen provides you with lot of data. This would include riding mode, ABS setting, engine temperature and few other things. The displayed information on the text screen and the settings for the “electronic trickery” is controlled by four buttons. The four triangle buttons are located on in front of the left handgrip. Very easy to reach with your thumb. To the right of tachometer is a digital speedometer. One thing you’ll notice right away with the speedometer is how quickly the values change.

Brembo calipers are installed all the way around. The front caliper has four pistons and the rear caliper has two. The front disk brakes 320 mm and the rear disk brake is 240 mm. The ABS system is the latest design from Bosch. The ABS can be set to either street or supermoto mode. I’m going to take “knowledge leap” about riding this motorcycle in supermoto mode. I’m guessing it will let you lose traction on the rear wheel through a sliding turn. If you’re one of those people who likes to say “I don’t need no stinking ABS,” you’re in luck, because you turn the ABS completely off.

The Super Duke R weighed in at about 445 pounds with all the fluids. The seat height is damn close to 33 inches. Not for the inseam challenged. The wheel base is around 58 inches. This is one of the reasons why this motorcycle felt very stable. The fuel tank holds 4.8 gallons. This should give you about a 200 mile range before running out of fuel. Front and rear tires are 17 inch.

This motorcycle is equipped with a single swing-arm to keep the weight down. The rear wheel is driven by a chain. Yep, there’s another method to cause the rear wheel to rotate besides a shaft or a carbon fiber belt. The rims are casted. The rims are manufactured using a low-pressure die casting process to reduce unsprung weight. There’s a lot of technology incorporated in this motorcycle.

The suspension is fully adjustable. The front forks are inverted with pretty much standard protocol for these types of motorcycles. The rebound and compression damping on the front forks can be set separately and independently from each other. Same goes for the rear shock, plus you get two speed settings for the compression damping. All of this information is above my pay grade. I’m just looking for a soft ride which is what I got during the demo ride.

Another thing I sometimes dislike about these types of motorcycles is the fact that I can’t use the mirrors. Generally you can’t see behind you, but you do get a good look at your shoulders. But everything was groovy, I could see behind me. Probably a really good thing because you will be able to see the police cars chasing you… although it will probably be from a distance. Oh, yeah, that day will come too, don’t kid yourself. What do they say “absolute power corrupts?”

Would I like to own one of these motorcycles? Yes, hell yes. Would I be able retain my privilege to drive in the state of Illinois if I owned this motorcycle? Nope, I would end up riding the bus for about 5 to 10 years. If you have self-control, this may be the motorcycle for you. Go to your nearest KTM dealer and check it

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